Speak Now
by Nellbell222
Summary: Caroline Forbes never thought leaving for five years would change much but now that she is back, Tyler Lockwood is getting married! Can she speak now or should she just forever hold her peace?  AU ONESHOT!


**A/N: READ READ READ! I haven't had a story in FOREVER! Sry! I am working on the sequel to Deny Deny Deny, the Harry Potter story but I am really excited about this one! I love Taylor Swift's song Speak Now and Caroline/Tyler. Their cuteness makes me smile! Plus I haven't been able to dwell on the whole non- Damon/Elena-ness that has been happening the last couple episodes. So anyways, I'll be updating soon!**

**No one is a vampire or werewolf! It was easier to write that way! **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Diaries! Credit goes to the brilliant minds! If I did, Caroline and Tyler would be together and Elena would have run off with Damon in the 1st season! Or Speak Now by Taylor Swift

**Summary: **Caroline Forbes never thought leaving for five years would change much but now that she is back, Tyler Lockwood is getting married! Can she speak now or should she just forever hold her peace? AU ONESHOT!

**Speak Now**

**By Nellbell222**

Caroline Forbes had never been considered a "brave" girl. In her childhood, Elena used to tease her at her deathly fear of spiders or the monster in her closet. Bonnie used to shake a creepy, rubber chicken in her face in the fourth grade, just because Caroline said she had a dream about them pecking her eyes out. But, after five years of traveling the globe, and avoiding home; she was back in Mystic Falls which was pretty brave in her opinion. This was the place where she had her first steps, her first crush and heartbreak, and where she became who she is today.

She knew that Bonnie had moved to Oregon to look farther into her roots, Elena and Damon had gotten married two years ago and were expecting a baby girl and Stefan had fled long ago; brooding about his lost love but had found new love with a nice girl named Jane. Her mother, distraught about her daughter leaving, had moved as well and became chief of police in the nearest city but left the house for Caroline if she ever wanted to return. Matt was still here but she really had interest in seeing him. The only person that she truly cared about seeing was Tyler.

After their falling out, she never forgave him and he never forgave her. Their last words to each other were words of hate and she had recently been crying herself to sleep in guilt. Maybe that is why she came back, or maybe she just needed a little bit of closure before she embarked on the next part of her journey.

It seemed like a great idea on the plane and even on her way to Mystic Falls from the airport but now that she was driving through town, she was scared and felt like turning right around and getting on the next plane to Paris, where there was an ocean between her and home. She took a left onto the familiar street and then pulled into the driveway of her home. The house needed paint and the lawn was severely overgrown but she could live here…eventually.

She heard a honk of a horn from across the street and when she turned around she saw none other than Matthew Donovan with a little blonde girl in his arms. She must have been no older than three years old but she was cute with her curls bouncing around her face delicately. A pregnant blonde woman stood by the door with them and then it hit Caroline.

Matt had a family. He had a wife, a little girl and a baby on the way. That's when her hand flew to her stomach which did not have a baby bump which it could have if she had stayed with Matt. But she was happy for him so she got out of the car to make herself known. He could say hi or he wouldn't. It was his choice.

"Caroline Forbes?"

She whipped her head around, smiled and waved. He, in return, waved her over and she sighed and walked across the street. Even if she was happy for him, she didn't want to see their happy family up close and personal. As she got closer, she saw his age lines, now grayish blonde hair but she couldn't miss the happiest smile she had ever seen on his face.

"Hi Matt. How are you?"

"I'm great actually. This is my wife Erin, my daughter Amelia and Erin is going to be having my son any day now." He laughed and it broke Caroline's heart. What did she have to show for the past five years? No education

"Hi Erin, I'm Caroline Forbes. A…um, old friend of Matt's from high school. I've been, uh…traveling the past couple years." She smiled.

"You don't have to say friend. He's talked about you before Caroline. It's exciting that you have been traveling. Where have you been?" And the conversation flowed like this for about an hour until Mrs. Donovan said she had to go get herself and Amelia ready for the big day today. It confused Caroline but she didn't let it bother her since she really liked Erin.

"Cares…does Ty know you're here?" Caroline sighed angrily; she knew he had something else he couldn't say in front of Erin. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and turned away from him.

"I don't want to talk about that Matt. I'm going to go now but tell Erin an Amelia it was nice meeting them." She walked towards her house without looking back until he shouted at her.

"He's getting married Caroline! Don't be the neurotic control freak that you always have been and go talk to him but try not to say it was me who told you! I know you probably won't be able to help yourself!"

Then, in a flash, her world changed from bright and glowing to dark and depressing in just a couple seconds. Matt still thought of her as a neurotic freak that had control issues and still as the little girl that couldn't keep her mouth shut. Tyler was getting married to someone that wasn't her.

She turned around and choked out, "When is the wedding?" She watched as Matt looked down at his watch and then back up at Caroline with those disapproving eyes.

"In five hours. And as best man, I should probably be getting to the Lockwood's house soon. You've been gone five years Cares, and now you decide to finally come back. It better only take you five hours to talk to Tyler before he gets married because he doesn't have another five years to wait for closure."

Caroline saw Matt get into his car and drive away but she was still processing the fact that Tyler was getting married.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The next four and a half hours of Caroline's life were some of the worst. Getting ready to go to the wedding of your best friend and love of your life's wedding was not the easiest process but when she got to the church that was the hardest part.

The outside of the Mystic Falls church had always been beautiful but it was now decorated to a T and it looked like something Caroline would put together. There was gorgeous flowers draped across the railings and the music flowing from the church was the perfect mix of wedding and formal party music. There was tons of people filing inside and Caroline just stood there staring until one of the little usher girls asked if Caroline would like a program.

She took one politely and thanked the little girl who all of the old ladies were talking about. She glanced at the cover and read the names beneath the picture of a group of people in front of the Lockwood's house; the house Caroline once spent a whole summer at when Tyler and she were little.

Dr. Tyler Michael Lockwood and Miss. Samantha Jeanette Kristophers.

Tyler had become a doctor? She left when they were twenty-one years old and I guess he just finished medical school. Maybe that's where he found Miss. Samantha Jeanette. She never thought of Tyler as saving someone's life; she thought more of him as sending someone to the hospital.

Caroline walked into the church and immediately saw the Donovan family sitting down. Matt wasn't sitting for long she presumed since he said he was the best man. Next she saw Tyler's old friend from football, Ryan Stevens who had about six kids that all looked like they were handpicked. All of them were prim and proper and didn't say a word. Next she saw Bonnie, who was with a guy that looked to be her date. Stefan looked comfortable sitting next to Damon and pregnant Elena but with Jane pinned to his side.

Caroline looked to the other side of the room and saw a flash of pastels and vivid hues of vomit green and midnight blue. She almost vomited herself when she saw the mother of the bride dress but she scurried to the corner where she could hide in the curtain successfully.

There was a loud screech from a back room and Caroline thought it might be a child or baby but then the ugly dressed mother ran to the door in the back of the church and Caroline deducted it was Tyler's wonderful bride yelling at a bridesmaid for probably touching her hair. This couldn't be what Tyler wanted for a wedding.

Soon, everyone had filled the church to the point of bursting and Caroline heard the awful organ screech just like Samantha did and it sent her back to her times at church. Tyler walked down the aisle with his mother, who looked so young it was frightening and Caroline had to suppress a laugh. Mrs. Lockwood always had to look sharp.

Then the wedding party came down the aisle next and Matt looked nice but the maid-of-honor did not. She was a hideously under-weight Barbie doll that lacked self respect. She could almost see her chewing her food and then spitting it out. The next girls looked no different and then it was the moment of truth; the bride.

She came in with her plump father and she did look very beautiful. Everyone was staring at her like she was the only girl in the room but Tyler, however, didn't. She swallowed a lump in her throat and tried to pick out something wrong with Samantha, besides her cupcake wedding dress, and she couldn't. She had pretty brown hair, had a pretty face and a good body and she floated down the aisle like a pageant queen. She couldn't pick anything out that was wrong with her. Then it hit her; there was something wrong with Samantha.

She's isn't Tyler's true love. It's Caroline. She should be with Tyler. It should be Caroline marrying Tyler, not Samantha.

Everyone became seated again while the priest said a few opening words and then he said the words that Caroline thought she would never get to hear, "If anyone in this room should have any just cause for these two not to wed, please speak now or forever hold your peace."

Caroline stared at the two up there, listening to the echoing silence and Tyler looking out to finally see who had come and Samantha looked out with her eyes slits and her mouth pressed in a hard line to see f anyone was brave enough to speak now. And Caroline was.

She lifted butt off of her chair and said, "I do."

Everyone's eyes locked on Caroline and they looked horrified. She almost felt sorry for herself and she figured she shouldn't have stood up but then she remembered that Tyler was up there and she had to be brave. That last bit of courage wasn't from Tyler though; it was from Matt, who gave her a smile. Now, she finally looked at Tyler, after all of these years she was finally with him again and it felt like it was just them in the room.

Then she was brought to reality when Samantha howled, "Who the hell are you?" But it wasn't Caroline who answered but her husband-to-be.

"Caroline? What are you doing here?" She moved from the back of the room with ease and started to slowly walk up the aisle towards the bride and groom.

"Um, well I came back. My mom said that I could move back into the house whenever I came home and I guess, I finally decided to come home. But, that's not what you mean, is it?" He shook his head and her eyes drifted to Samantha who looked like she was about to come and kill Caroline.

"Matt told me you were getting married and I…um, I needed to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left, I'm sorry I didn't kiss you back in the seventh grade, I'm sorry you didn't kiss me back freshman year, I'm sorry we couldn't be together for longer than a year and I'm sorry we broke up. Mostly, I'm sorry I just crashed your wedding and for saying this, I love you Tyler Michael Lockwood and we deserve to have another chance."

She waited for him to do anything. Smile, frown or give his infamous smirk but he didn't do any of that. He laughed.

"Are you serious?" He continued to laugh and Samantha took some time to stop trying to kill Caroline with her eyes and look to Tyler to see if she could save his sanity. Tyler walked forward towards Caroline and Samantha looked like she was going to pounce on him.

"I waited for you to come home for years Caroline. Years! And now you finally decide to come home when I'm getting married. Unbelievable. And there is only one thing I can say…I love you too." Then, he pressed his lips to her and instead of silence, applause echoed the room.

Today was a day for happy endings and that's exactly what happened.


End file.
